Something to miss
by Delta3
Summary: Set after the movie. Snow White believes she has to decide between being with the man who saved her life, and the protection and stability of her kingdom. What will be the concequenses of her decision? The struggle of love, lust and loss is all part of being queen, and the afermath of some actions may be irreversible.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1.

The past months was more and more blurred in my memory, and they felt almost like a dream, a memory of a different life I had lived generations ago. Going from prisoner to queen, leaving behind a life I had lived for most of my existence and, although a horrible and frightful life, a life I had gotten used to and felt somewhat safe in, was harder than I thought. Not that I in any way missed my life as a prisoner, kept in that cold cell with only my handmade dolls as company and the frightening visits from the dark queens brother, just standing there looking at me in the dark. But changing everything was still a frightening endeavor.

I was sitting in my room, the kings suite. A big room with soft rugs on the floor, big windows with satin curtains, a balcony and a huge fireplace with a soft burning fire. I was sitting in a comfortable chair by the fire thinking about my life, now a couple of weeks after my coronation. Fighting for the life of my people and my friends was hard enough, but now that I accomplished my goals I somehow felt empty. Lonely almost. I missed the days of wandering in the forest with the huntsman, being free as a bird for the first time in all those years seeing everything for the first time, through the eyes of a child. After all, I had not been allowed to grow up really in the cell all by myself. I had to grow up fast, and was now in training with some of the men and women of the household to learn all the things a young woman should have learned during the last years of being a girl.

This was a frustrating task - some parts of me had grown up fast in the cell, things like dealing with pain, the sense of responsibility and sacrifice, all which came in handy when you were supposed to rule a kingdom. But I had lost so much when it came to dealing with people, understanding people and knowing how the world worked. I knew that people liked me, even loved me, but it was hard for me to know how to handle these people. Animals where so much easier, they showed you their essence the moment you encountered them. In the world of the animals there were no lies, no manipulation, just curiosity and respect. as long as you saw an animal for what it was, what its essence contained, and showed them respect you were met with the same.

Now my world was filled with information on how to understand the meaning behind words, the meaning behind gestures , and it aggravated me on one hand that my right hand Sir Norris wanted to portray people this way, and on another that I didn't already know enough to question him. I understood that this was an important part of being a Queen, but it still frustrated me.

I heard a soft knock on the door and my handmaiden Lucy came in.

'Pardon me, My lady, but Mr. Huntsman is here to see you.' I smiled nervously. I hadn't seen much of my friend during these weeks after my coronation, and had not spoken to him privately, so I had asked him to come to my quarters this evening to speak about an official business regarding the enchanted forest, partly as an excuse to see him a bit more and wanted to see him alone and ask him a question I had been keeping in my heart for weeks now. Lucy went on:

'The Supper is almost ready My Lady, do you wish to eat in here or in the dining hall?'

'Let Mr. Huntsman in, and I will call on you when I want my supper. I'll eat it here, I have some documents to look over. That will be all Miss.' I dismissed her an moments later Mr. Huntsman stood in the doorway looking a bit hesitant.

'Mr. Huntsman!' I exclaimed, a bit too cheerful for the occasion. 'I hope you are settling well in town, I heard from the duke that you bought property down by the eastern gate.' He nodded and opened his mouth to speak:

'I thought it was time I got a new place after everything. This is much bigger than my old house, and no memories'. he paused and I was painfully reminded of his late wife Sarah, whose memory was probably fixed everywhere in their old house. ' Pardon me, my Lady, but why have you called me here?' there was urgency in his voice as he stepped in and closed the door behind him, and I unintentionally backed away so that we stood facing each other by the fire place. My mood sank and it almost felt hard to breathe. I swallowed and begun:

'There is something I want to ask you, but I'm afraid of the consequences of knowing the answer'

'Then you shouldn't ask! Can't we just leave things where they are, and both be happy?' His voice was nervous and I got the sense he didn't want to talk about this but he definitely knew what I was talking about. I hesitated. I could not force this on him after all, but I wanted to know the whole truth so badly.

'As you wish Mr. Huntsman.' I said biting my lip. 'And the matter of the enchanted forest, I want to bring together a team of three-four men to ride out and examine the changes in the forest. We still don't fully know how Ravenna's rule affected the state of the forest, and how it can have changed since she was killed. My hope is that the forbidden evil parts will reduce in size as her evil powers over the land has been destroyed, but I am not sure that this is the case. My wish is that you, with your knowledge and skills will lead this team, together with men of your choosing, and ride out soon. I will demand yearly checkups of this sort to fully grasp the changes in the land and be able to document these over time.' The Huntsman stood their looking like his mind was left back in the early parts of our conversation, and was now trying to grasp what I was saying. 'What say you?' I asked since he didn't seem eager to answer. He opened his mouth:

'Well, My Lady, I was under the impression that you wanted me here for your protection, but that is clearly no longer the case. I assume you have more qualified guards to do that. I will perform this research, if it's what you will of me, I obviously don't have a wife or a family here to look after anyway.' I couldn't believe it. He was hurt! I had barely seen him since the day after the coronation when I asked him to be part of my guarding staff, and here he was complaining about the fact that I sent him away on an important mission. He continued.

'Since you already know where I live, have all the information sent to me there. I must leave now, I have things to attend to.' He turned his back to leave, and half amused, half scared I grabbed his arm to prevent him. He caught my hand and dragged me closer to his tall frame. His blue eyes tingled with anger, angst and some kind of spark that I couldn't place. He held me like that for a couple of seconds, eyes fixing mine, bodies tight together forced by his hand on my wrist.

It was I who stretched my neck and raised to my toes first to try and catch his lips with mine, but the minute the gesture had started he leaned forward and lightly kissed me. I lingered there, felt the familiarity of the moment. Indeed, this wasn't our first kiss, I was sure of that now.

He leaned his forehead against mine and we stood like that with closed eyes for a minute or two, feeling the warmth of each other's bodies inhaling the scent of each other that was so familiar yet so painfully irresistible.

'I knew it was you. You brought me back to life after the curse. I have felt it for a while, heard your words in my dreams, felt your lips against mine.' It came out as a whisper, and he stood there motionless for a while and then gave out a big sigh. He stepped away and I almost fell forward as he distanced himself.

'My Queen' he begun, 'The right thing here might be just that job you offered me. Some time away might do me some good.' He looked like he was in pain, but seemed so certain of his words that I couldn't muster up the strength to argue. 'Might be the right thing for us both' he continued.

'But...' I really didn't know what to say, I mean there was really no room for this mess in our lives anyway, especially in mine. Could this even happen? would it be accepted by the household, by my politicians, by my people? And if not, would I put the stability of my kingdom in jeopardy because of my own personal affairs? Still, he saved my life. Without him there would be no kingdom of mine, it would all still be under the terror of Ravenna, and they all owed him so much. Maybe time would be the thing that would put this in perspective against all the other things going on in my life.

'Maybe it is best. I will send you the information tomorrow. you will leave next week and return by the end of next month' I said it with a pang of pain in my heart, for this would mean more than a whole month away from him. But he was right. It wasn't meant to be, not to mention the position I would put him in. Better he forget me and concentrated on the job that needed to be done.

'My Queen' Ho bowed slightly and backed out of the room. I closed it and sat down behind it, taking deep breaths. After a few minutes of collecting my thoughts and calming down my breathing I called on Lucy to come with the supper. The task of being queen somehow seemed even more daunting.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2.

I woke up the next day as coming out of a strange dream but not knowing the content. The evening before dawned on me and it was with heavy steps that I got out of bed and proceed to the two big windows in the suite. I drew away the soft dark-red satin curtains whit one swift movement and stared out into a world of glistening sunlight. It was springtime in Tabor, after years of winter, and the sun kissed the roofs of my people's homes and made them glisten. At least I would never be truly alone when I was here, in my home.

After a swift breakfast I had a chat with my Right Hand (Or, more correctly; the Queens Hand) Sir. Norris and made the arrangements for Mr. Huntsman's departure. I made sure that I was the one to write the letter with the information. I was clear that he was to return on the full moon following the one about to come, no later. But I was not informal in my language. My feeling of softness from last night had disappeared with the sighting of this beautiful crisp spring morning. I knew now with certainty that this was the right thing for now, that my duty was to my people and my people alone. I had brought about this magic spring and it was my responsibility to protect it, not spend time worrying about my own personal affairs. I sent the letter of with a message boy from the household and took to my other responsibilities for the day.

As the day grew longer I wondered if the Huntsman had left already, or if he would wait until tomorrow. I could not get our kiss out of my mind, even though I knew I was doing the right thing. I decided to take a walk to clear my head and left the scroll of paper I had been working on there on the table in my office. Even though it was spring it was still chilly out, so I had Lucy grab my grey ankle-length coat to put over my deep velvet satin and silk dress with full arms. This was my favorite dress and I didn't really like covering it up, especially with a coat that made it even harder to walk, but the cold was there and I couldn't ignore it.

I walked outside in the castle garden and looked around at all the trees about to go into bloom. small green buds were forming on all the branches and as I touched one it broke open and green leaves reached for the sunlight. I laughed and felt like touching all the buds to make the tree green and lush, but it felt cruel to leave the small light green leaves out in the cold prematurely. I loved this; being connected to nature, even this controlled garden nature. I felt like myself again, like the girl with the relationship with the trees and the animals, not the Queen of Tabor. It felt good, and I promised myself I would cherish these moments and not forget who I was.

At the end of the garden there was a steep precipice with a low wall, and when you stood there you could see a few of the farmer houses down below on this side of town and the exit through the southern gate. I walked there slowly and watched the birds flutter over me, and the town going about its normal routine. I felt calm, happy even, the memories of past events blurring in my mind and making me feel as one with my surroundings. And, as I stood there looking down on the farmers of my beloved town, I saw him, riding out with two companions through the gate and onwards on the road leading to the forests. Even from this distance I knew it was him, from the color of his cloak to his golden hair and the figure of his body on the horse. I let out a sigh and waved in his direction even though I knew he did not see me.

As I went inside the message boy came running up to me in the foyer.

'Queen Snow White, I have a message from Mr. Huntsman.' He bowed and handed me a sealed roll. I took it and thanked him with a couple of coins, and sent him away. I walked quickly to mu chambers, the kings suite, and closed the door behind me. Lucy had been here lighting the fire and making the bed. the room smelled nice and had been aired out nicely, but was still warm from the fire. She had moved the chair from the fireplace to its usual spot by the opposite wall, so I sat down on the rug on the floor in front of the fire instead and opened the letter.

_My Queen._

_I have now left for my visit to the forbidden forest. I have taken with me my two friends Mr. Adam Downing and Mr. Tom Hucksley. We will return, as requested, at the next coming full moon, no later. I must tell you that while I enjoy the idea of yet again being out in the forest doing a job that lets me be free, It is with a heavy heart I leave my home and this town. I hope this knowledge will not bring you sadness, but remembrance that missing something is having something to come home to. It has been long since I had something to miss._

_With the highest of regards_

_Eric Huntsman_


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3.

The following moon came and went and the next one was dawning. I felt myself getting more and more happy as the moon grew every night. Nothing had changed in my decision to put away our feelings for each other, but I still felt uneasy without the huntsman around. It was, after all he who had kept me safe all this time and not feeling his presence around me was harder than I had thought it would be. I, however, kept busy with work. The spring had kicked in properly by now and the warm weather brought with it a better outlook on the summer harvest, but also meant a shorting of water. The town had for so long been without warm weather the water supplies were not up to date. It was a great big effort to build aqueducts and channel fresh water, and organizing this job kept be busy.

All this time I kept track of the days, counting and recounting. I read the letter, which I kept in a locked drawer next to my bed, every night before I went to sleep. Thinking that he would miss me, and look for me to come home to was comforting, if that was what the mysterious message had meant. But he had sent it to me, after all, so it must mean something. The night before his homecoming I could barely eat and hardly sleep. I tossed and turned and finally had to call for Lucy to get me some warm milk and honey to calm me down. I woke up sleepy, and didn't realize why until it dawned on me that today was the day! I quickly got up, had Lucy get me the dove color satin gown that I had picked out for this particular day. I didn't even know what I was doing, I still had no plan whatsoever on how to handle the situation, but I knew that the time apart had definitely not given me time to move on and focus on what was really important. I felt him, I felt him with my whole being, and there was no getting around the fact that we were in each other's lives now. How that would manifest itself was still unclear, but I knew that I was happy he was coming home to me.

The day crept on slowly, as I tended to some minor paperwork. most of the organization surrounding the water issues had been resolved, even though there was still much work to be done by the workers. When I had heard nothing from anybody concerning the Huntsman I took a break and went out to the end of the garden, where I knew I would see him come eventually. As I stood there I got a horrible feeling in my stomach that he wasn't coming home at all. The life of everybody was just going on as usual, and in would continue that way every day, even if he never showed. Only my life would be changed forever. I worried more and resolved to stay there looking for him. I waited and waited, and saw no sign of him, no horses or men coming closer to the southern gate, and soon I became chilly, wrapping my coat around my body but still remaining in that same spot, eyes fixing on the road leading away from Tabor. I hadn't realized how long I had stood there until the sun started to set and darkness was creeping in the corners of my eyes. Lucy called from the castle that dinner was ready, with a worried tone in her voice, and I reluctantly left my position walking slowly to the castle.

The evening crept on, I now had a sucking hole in my stomach. I had sent the huntsman and his fellows to the forbidden forest, a place men dreaded to go for its dark magic. Many men went missing there before, yet I had sent the person I cared for the most in this world to this exact place, for some trifling job. I had lessons with Mr. Norris, and the moment I saw him in the dinner hall before practice I asked him if he had heard from the group in the forest. He looked at me with puzzled eyes.

'They are probably just a couple of days late My Lady. I mean, it's a huntsman and his companions, how well can you trust their sense of obligation?' I wanted to hit his wrinkly grey face with my hand, but I held back and sighed.

'Alright, Mr. Norris. Let's get this lesson over with.'

After a couple of hours of learning the family tree of the reigning family, I headed back to my room. No message, no word at all. That feeling crept back inside me, that something was wrong and yet again I tossed and turned in bead, not in anticipation this time, but of fear. I woke up early and Lucy walked in and cleared her throat.

'My Lady, beg your pardon for disturbing you so early, but the men from the expedition in the woods are here and very eager to see you.' I got up quicker than humanly possible, dressed and walked as quickly as a could without running, towards the great hall.

When I got there, there were three men waiting for me, but not the three men I was expecting. There were the two boys, I assumed Mr. Downing and Mr. Hucksley, and Mr. Norris. No Mr. Huntsman. I froze, and Mr. Norris opened his mouth to speak.

'These two men have told me of some of the goings on in the forest, and I am deeply disturbed.'

'Where is Mr. Huntsman?' I interrupted Mr. Norris.

'Well...' one of the boys started hesitantly, gripping firmly at the piece of fabric he was holding between his hands. 'Everything was going fine with the examination of the forest, actually it has grown a bit smaller according to Mr. Huntsman's experience. There are parts being overtaken with the good spirits of the forest. Anyway, we were coming close to the end of our stay, we stayed mostly on the borders to the good parts, so we could sleep soundly at night, but two days ago Mr. Huntsman wanted to go off alone. He said he had to get something special, neither of us were invited to come along. He told us to stay where we were and wait for him. It would only take a couple of hours. We waited the whole night, and he never came back. In the morning - this is yesterday - we both went looking in the direction where he had gone and after a few hours we found his coat, torn and dirty on the ground. We didn't know what to do so we decided to come back, we rode all night.' He held out the coat towards me, and I grabbed it with shaky arms. 'He talked a lot about you, My Lady, and how much he respected you as a queen. We understand that he served as your personal protector for some time of your life. We thought you might like to keep his coat for now.' I looked down at it, and it was indeed dirty and torn. I could not believe my ears, this could not be happening.

From feeling worried to complete devastation. I excused myself and went back to my room, threw myself on the bed and screamed into my pillow.

My fault, my fault. Why did I send him away? Because I couldn't handle being around him? Because it would be easier for me to have him out of reach, no temptation? I cursed my stupidity, and cursed his for taking off alone. I had to fix this! There was no other way, I had to leave and go after him. If he was alive I would save him or die trying. Or if he was dead I wanted to see it with my own eyes and once and for all know the truth of what happened. I got up from the bed, with streaks of tears still running down my cheeks, I felt the calmness of making a decision. I dried my eyes, straightened my dress and walked out of the room, strengthened by the knowledge that tonight I would leave and maybe never come back. Tonight it would be do or die, and there was a strange comfort in that.

The day went on as usual. There was decided that no search party would be sent for Mr. Huntsman, the cloak was evidence enough of his death and going into the forest again would mean jeopardizing more lives. I went on with my work pretending to care, while I actually planned my escape. I wrote letters to Mr. Norris, Lucy and a few more members of my household to ensure that everything would go on as usual when I was gone. People would think I had come down with some sort of sickness, not a life-threatening one, but serious enough to keep me away from business indefinitely .

When it was time to go to bed I waited for the household to die down, and started packing my bags. One with warm clothes, one with food I had snuck out of the kitchen. I brought some medicine and small linen cloths I or somebody else would have any scrapes or cuts. I put on pants this time, I would not ride in women's clothing, it would make me recognizable and was highly unpractical. While I did this my heart fell. This was real. He was out there, dying or dead or captured and I was riding out to save him. It was my responsibility, but still I shivered as I packed the last thing, his letter, in one of the two bags and quietly left the castle for the stables. There were secret paths all around the castle, but sneaking out a horse would not be easy. I broke open an old door at the other end of the stables and lead my beautiful grey horse Lune out of there without making too much noise. We got out and well in the city I knew where to go. There was a small hidden exit next to the steep ravine that kept the castle garden floating over the rest of the city. When I followed it there was a narrow exit between the mountainside and the big wall were me an Lune could sneak out without anyone noticing. Well away from prying eyes I mounted Lune and we took off in the moonlight heading south towards the forests.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Being outside the town, running away like a fugitive again brought back a lot of memories of my last escape, and the feeling of freedom from bonds was buzzing in all of my bones. I let Lune gallop freely, and concentrated all my energies to understanding where my Huntsman had gone. Why had he left the others behind, and where might they have been as they left him? It had took them a whole nights ride to get home, so they couldn't have been too far from the entrance to the woods. Since the first time I had been here, I was alone and got in trouble right away, having to leave my horse to die caught in a vicious swamp, I was now eager to avoid the same path. I remembered another part that the huntsman had shown me, further east, that lead past the bridge we once had crossed together and where I had calmed down a huge beast about to beat us to death or eat ur alive. While riding through the fields in the moonlight I thought about this moment, probably the first time we had seen each other for real. We had fought together side by side, as equals and developed that bond that kept us together to this day.

Lune continued, strong and muscular under my tense body and a couple of hours into our flight the landscapes started to change. From growing fields and small collections of trees with small green leaves about to burst into bloom we now came closer to big bushes and rocky ground. I could feel the cold of the woods creeping closer, but our only hope was to keep going forward, not stop and not look back. I encouraged Lune as I felt her tense up underneath me. The moon disappeared behind dark clouds and the bushes grew into trees that grew bigger and wilder as the forest got deeper and deeper.

My only hope was to follow the unclear path in front of me, but to do so we had to slow down, in order not to miss it. I focused my energy on not getting frightened. We had to keep going, for his sake. The darkness around me was thick but my eyes were fixed on the small rocky path in front of me, taking no notice of the insects that dropped from the sky onto my shoulders or the creatures that seemed to move around us, just out of sight. Fear was the enemy here, not the surrounding itself, and keeping calm was essential for keeping the spirits away. The Huntsman had told me all of this the last time we were here, and I thanked him quietly in my mind for giving me his knowledge.

The last time I was here, my insides felt like darkness and I was consumed by fear, and thereby almost consumed by the forest. "Keep going, keep going" I murmured to myself, and I realized that we must have been riding for several hours and that morning would soon come. This lifted my spirits, and I could almost feel some of the darkness lifting it's veil around me. Lune hurried on, almost encouraged by my lifting spirits, and I could see small sparks of light at the horizon. We came to a clearing, and I instantly recognized the surroundings. We were heading close to the old stone bridge.

Another half-hour and the bridge appeared in front of us, and I let out a sigh. the worst was behind us. The sky grew lighter and lighter, ant the trees slowly changed in appearance. from dark overgrown shadows they turned healthier, smaller and greener. This looked like a new forest, and I realized that this part before had been a dead wasteland between the two parts. It was now starting to grow, green leaves were shooting out of holes in old trunks on the ground, and the hard rocks were hidden underneath a green cover. I almost forgot my reason for this journey, as I was gazing at this growing land, but as I felt Lune breathing heavily beneath me I realized that we had ridden for hours without water or food, and that I needed her to rest soon. We continued for one more hour, watching the landscape change more and more into the lovely forest I remembered in my mind. Springtime had come to this place too, and birds were chirping loudly, announcing the breaking dawn. I could feel my insides slowly melting to the wonderful loving calm that always filled me in this magical place.

We walked on, more cheerfully and almost without direction, moving deeper into the forest. We were now surrounded by big old trees with small and lovely green leafs that made the sunlight glisten with a light green spark. The sound of Lune's hooves were now muffled by the moss on the ground, and the rocky surroundings were changed into lovely green knolls, covered in grass and moss. Two small sparrows landed on each side of my shoulders, and broke out in a lovely light song, and I couldn't help mounting off Lune. I walked a couple of steps, she sparrows flew away and sat down onto a tree nearby, still singing for me, and I sat down on a tree trunk that had fallen on the ground. A little field mouse ran out of a hole in the trunk and turned around, looking at me curiously. 'I'm sorry, did I wake you? I'm just borrowing tour house for some rest' I smiled at the mouse, and it quickly moved back into its house, as I started untying the straps of my boots, allowing me to walk barefoot for a while.

I took Lune by her reins and we walked on for a while, not really knowing where we were headed. I had focused hard on getting us in, past the evil forest, and now I didn't know where to start looking. We came to a beautiful place, a stream running peacefully through the landscape and I let Lune loose to drink from the water As I sat down with my back to a tree trunk I suddenly felt extremely tired. This tree was big, with a gnarled and twisted stem, which made the nook I was sitting in particularly comfortable. The twisted stem also gave me some shelter as it almost surrounded me, and without control my body slid down towards the grass covered ground and I covered myself with my cape, surrounded by the sounds of twittering birds, leaves and branches in the wind, the ripple of the water and Lune's calm presence. Had I been more focused I probably also would have heard the distant sound of muffled footsteps, but I was too sleepy and to comforted by this place to worry my head. I fell into a deep sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

When I woke it was clearly mid day. The light was stronger and the sounds of the forest more active. I stretched myself out on the grass bed, waking all the fibers of my body and became aware of the fact that I wasn't wearing any shoes. I got up and started tying them to my feet when I realized that I couldn't hear Lune. I looked up and she was nowhere I could see. This was strange, she never walked far without me. I finished with the shoes and got up, looking around, worried. I walked around for a minute or two, calling her name and finally, there she came walking towards me on the other side of the small stream. But she was not alone.

I drew a breath as I saw her, happily walking beside... Beside something I really couldn't explain. Was it a child? No, but it looked like a girl, a small slender girl with eyes and ears too big for its body. She (if it was a girl) had no hair, but a greenish mat of something between moss and grass in a braid on her head, a sickly tone of blue on her skin, and an abnormally slender figure, dressed in green and brown fabric. She was barefoot, and together she and Lune walked through the stream towards me.

This girl, or what she was, looked intensely in my eyes with her freakishly big ones, and I couldn't help but be absorbed in them. They were so full of wonder, so full of the spirit of the forest. As they came closer I kneeled down so I could meet her at her level(she reached about up to my hip) and she said with a mysterious voice:

'Lune is lovely. She came to me, and now she came to you' I nodded and she turned her back to leave.

'Wait!' I exclaimed and she turned towards me again. ' What's your name?' I asked

'Some call me Ain, but most don't call me anything. I keep this stream. Your horse called me out, and I came for her'

'I'm sure Lune was happy for the company. I am the Queen of Tabor, they call me Snow White.' Ain looked at me in wonder.

'So you're the one! You will bring balance to this realm. There 's whispers in the forest, telling tales of the bravery of the Girl with the raven hair.' She looked around at the trees.

'Ain, I am here looking for someone.' I continued, ' Have you seen a man here, alone, perhaps hurt?' Ain suddenly looked afraid and signaled me to come closer. She whispered:

'They took him' and nodded as if reassuring she was telling me the truth.

'Who? Who took him?' I eagerly asked.

'Shhhh!' She looked around, as if worrying somebody would hear her. 'They who walk at night. They want back what he took, what wasn't his to take, and only then will they set him free again' I felt confused and she saw this, but did not look willing to give me more information.

'Who are they? what did he take, and how do I bring it to them?'

'They are the ones that walk at night. They are kept here by a promise they haven't fulfilled, and he took their promise. All they want to do is leave, but now they're bound to stay here forever.' She looked worried, but I was determined to get as much information as possible.

'And where can I find these nightwalkers?'

'They dwell at the northern foot of the small mountain by the lake. If you can give them their promise back, maybe you can still save your friend' She smiled at me, and turned to leave. Before she got to the stream she looked back.

'Good luck, Queen of snow' She said and jumped into the water, never resurfacing.

I sat down again. What a wondrous person I had come about. This forest seemed even bigger and more filled with secrets now, and it called to my adventurous side, but I had to focus on Him now. A lot of information at once, For the first thing, he was still alive! This was of course a relief big enough to make me almost tear up. But who were these mysterious creatures that had taken him? And how could you steal a promise, not to mention give it back?

I knew of the mountain by the lake, I had been there before, and I knew it would be a couple of hours for me to ride there. I got up, ate a piece of stale bread from my bag and mounted Lune. If I left now, I would be there in time for nightfall.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

We took off from the clearing by the river in a hurry. As we rode through the forest I felt my stomach crave food and water, but I knew I had to keep going. This adventure through the forest would have seemed magical, if it wasn't for the reason I was here. As we went on for hours across the landscape, crossing rivers and galloping over vast fields what consumed my mind was the thought of Him. Him, who I loved secretly in my heart, who had my heart so entirely that no other man would ever get a piece of it. He had saved me, brought me back, sacrificed himself for me, given up his wishes for mine, and I had let him go. Ordered him to go. I wanted to decide then and there to stay in the forest forever, until I found him or was consumed by it myself. I could not see myself ever returning to Tabor without him, but I had to think of my people, who had held on through the loss of my father, and I decided that even though I deserved to suffer, they didn't. Bringing another royal down at their feet and leaving the throne open for anyone to take was not something I was willing to do.

I had to find Him! But even if I found the place where his captives held him, how could I convince them to let him go? what could I do? I had no idea, but I knew I had to try my best. As the sky turned darker I realized I was getting very close. The landscape started to lean upwards, and the mountain I had followed in the horizon had now gotten too close to see under the treetops. I started riding further south, heading towards the big lake. I felt the sweat on my forehead running down my cheek and my wet back was chilling me down in the darkening air.

I came to a clearing and could see the lake spreading out before me. The sun was setting and giving the evening a beautiful red glow. I got down from Lune and let her wander off without me, knowing she would come back if and when I needed her. For this I didn't want her anyway. As the sun was setting lower and lower I made my way down towards the lake, trying to figure out exactly where they would be. I walked on for a while, looking around me as the air grew thick with darkness. A bit further down, close to the foot of the mountain was a small collection of trees, and as I walked past it, I heard a sound coming from within the group of trees. A sound that was almost human!

I rushed in through the trees and to my surprise between them was a rather big clearing, like a circle surrounded by the trees. In the middle was the dark figure of a large rock on the ground. I carefully waked closer to the dark rock, not knowing what to expect, and trying hard to fix my eyes in the dark. As I got closer the rock let out the clear sound of a groan, and I immediately rushed to it, not really thinking of what I was doing. I knew the moment I fell to the ground that it was him. No mirage, no tricks. The moment I sat down and lifted his head in my hands I could feel the warmth of his body and sense the smell of his skin. It was no trick, no mirage, he was there, lying hurt on the ground.

I put his head in my lap as I sat there, carefully stroking a few strands of his blond hair out of his face. His lip was cut, one eye badly bruised and he had a lot of scrapes over his skin. I looked down at his body, and it was a sight that made my hart drop. His left leg was in a weird angle that did not look natural, and his left arm swollen and bloody. he looked thin and limp, almost without life. Tears started to form in my eyes and dropped silently onto his face in my lap. I looked down at him, my tears glistening on his cheeks. His breath, before calm, suddenly became uneven and strained. His lips moved, and a small sentence escaped from his mouth:

"Is this a dream? Or am I dead and in heaven?" I stroked his cheek.

"I will get you home again, don't you worry. When this is all over, we will be there at home, walking in the garden together, and happy. Can you picture it? The apple trees blossoming and the birds singing for us like they used to. You holding my hand, as we stroll around." He didn't answer me, but I hoped he had heard.

We sat like that for a minute or two, I was absorbed in his presence, not knowing what to do and where to start. Leaning over him, I suddenly heard the sound of footsteps behind me. They were definitely not Lune's, and I suddenly understood that he was here for a reason, and that I wasn't just going to get to leave with him. Still sitting on the ground I carefully let his head slide down t the grass again, and turned around. Two men, but they were not really men, stood there looking at me.

These men were tall and skinny with big eyes, and their bodies seemed to be made of something somewhere between see-trough fluid and grey solid stone. Their feet were bare on the ground, and they had an expression of utter sadness on their faces. I could not help but be absorbed in this sadness, feel so much the pain they felt.

"He must stay, he cannot leave" One of them told me.

"Why?" I asked.

"Because he took our promise. The thing we value most of all".

"Can't he just give it back?"

"There is no way. He has to stay here." I felt myself getting inpatient, but I had to calm down and try to understand without judging or stressing them on, or this could be disastrous. I continued:

" What is this promise?"

"The promise to leave of course!" The other one urged on. "We have been here forever. We are many, many men who wander here at night. As long as the memory stretches we have all wandered here, bound by the things we have done. But we were promised to leave, we had it all done, and he came and took it away. So we keep him, until the promise can be fulfilled"

"How did he take the promise?" I asked, feeling myself getting sucked into the story. They came closer and said almost with a whisper.

"He destroyed her..."

"Who did he destroy?" I was intrigued now.

"The dark queen! She promised us to leave if we helper her. We fought for her, laid down our immortal bodies for her cause only so we could leave this place and find our peace in the next. But he destroyed her, he saw to it that our promise was never fulfilled."

I collected my thoughts. I remembered with horror the dark armies Ravenna had conjured up. Was it these men of the forest she had used for an army, bound to this earth unable to die? And it seemed here promise to them was forfeit the day she died. But their story wasn't true, the Huntsman never killed Ravenna, I did! Could I tell them this and set him free? Would he be alright to get home without me? I decided he would have to be.

"What you are saying is not true, I was the one who killed Ravenna, not Him! I killed her, so if you want someone to blame, blame me. I wish I could restore your promise..." As I said this an idea came to my head. What if I could?

"You might have killed the queen, but he saved you, no? We were free to leave the moment your body lay cold in the ground, but he was the one that saved you from that destiny."

"But I am the Queen of Tabor now. The decisions of Ravenna fall directly onto me, wouldn't they?"

I heard whispers around me, realizing that we were way more people than I thought. From the trees more of these grey fluid men came flowing in, all with the expression of sadness and longing, all looking at me intently. They were forming a big circle around me, more of them then I could count.

"If I, The Queen of this realm decide you are free to leave, you are aren't you?"

"The promise was that the moment you laid in the ground, we would be free to leave, and now that you are here, that can easily be done" The man in front of me said. I suddenly got scared they would hurt me. He continued. "The promise cannot be fulfilled with the Dark Queen dead, but it was still a promise carved in stone. It can't be undone, but it can't be fulfilled either"

"But what if I make you a new promise, and I carve it in stone or tree or something? Is there no way for me to let you leave? And why are you keeping him here if there is no way for me to help him?"

"Oh but there is a way!" the man said suddenly. "You are the Queen of Tabor, and we answer to you alone. We knew that keeping Him would guide you here eventually. You can make your promise, but carved in flesh. It can override the one carved in stone". I looked down at the huntsman and exclaimed:

"No!" I didn't want to do it, not at all.

"He was prepared for that, he wants it."I looked at him lying there peacefully on the ground, and my eyes went straight to his bloody arm. I moved around him and rolled up his sleeve. On his arm was a text, carved in with a knife.

_I, The Queen of Tabor, Promise freedom to the nightwalkers. They are no longer bound to this Realm and can leave at their own wish._

I felt like throwing up, but the men staring at me with their big sad eyes brought me back to the conversation.

"All you have to do is sign it."

I grabbed from my boot a small knife and with a trembling arm I put it against his skin. With a sigh of angst I pressed hard until blood started sipping from him, and I could hear him grunting. I spelled a small and quick _S. White_ underneath the text he had carved himself, and with a voice of anger called out:

_"I, QUEEN SNOW WHITE OF TABOR, PROMISE FREEDOM TO THE NIGHTWALKERS. FROM THIS MOMENT ON THEY ARE NO LONGER BOUND TO THIS REALM, AND CAN LEAVE AT THEIR OWN WISH_"_._

The forest around me let out a big sigh that I could feel all the way to the core of my being. The men surrounding me all closed their eyes and seemed to drift into the trees again, losing the solidity of their form and gradually disappearing. We were alone.


End file.
